


Spotted by Accident.

by exolliarmus



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-10
Updated: 2017-09-10
Packaged: 2018-12-25 23:06:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12046191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/exolliarmus/pseuds/exolliarmus
Summary: Kyungsoo wasn't supposed to be at Hogsmeade, yet a Slytherin prefect stumbled upon him by accident.





	Spotted by Accident.

**Author's Note:**

> Title: Spotted by Accident.  
> Pairing: KaiSoo (Jongin x Kyungsoo)  
> Summary: Kyungsoo wasn't supposed to be at Hogsmeade, yet a Slytherin prefect stumbled upon him by accident.  
> Rating: PG  
> Word Count: 8,176 words  
> Author's Note: Firstly, thank you to the EXOlliarmus mods for organising this! They were honestly so on top of deadlines, yet were so friendly and considerate to allow extensions and advice; so thank you, mods! I also thank my close friend who actually introduced me to this fic fest––without her, I wouldn't have ever stumbled upon this, and also wouldn't have gotten so much support from her until the end product. I would also like to thank my non-EXO-L friends who helped me with proofreading and giving me their advice as well! Lastly, I'd also like to thank you, my reader, for giving this fic a chance to be read by you! Writing this was such a journey––there were so much ups and downs, successes and struggles––but I managed to finish this. Yet I'm still somewhat unsatisfied, especially with my horrible titling, haha! I may re-edit the whole thing again and post it up on my AFF; but for now, please enjoy and don't forget to leave comments! :) Thank you!

Kyungsoo stepped into the familiar building that was Hogwarts: one of the world's greatest wizarding schools there was. His large doe-like eyes scanned the familiar, spacious corridors as he trekked through towards the Great Hall with a few other students eager to start another school year.  
   
There was a lot of loud chatter around him, but probably the loudest voice he could hear was none other than Byun Baekhyun's next to him. His best friend and roommate was practically bouncing with every step as the boy happily chatted away about his holiday to him and Park Chanyeol, an equally excitable and tall boy from Hufflepuff.  
   
It was such a wonder how Baekhyun wasn't sorted into the same house as Chanyeol for the half-blood was highly approachable, loyal to his best peers, and practically a goofball––the last trait twice as intensified with Chanyeol around. Not only that, but he and the tall boy were joined by the hip. It would be considered strange to see Chanyeol or Baekhyun all by their lonesome while out of their respective dorms; you'd always see one with the other, and never apart.  
   
However, it made sense for him to be in Gryffindor for he was open to trying new things and never held back in voicing his honest opinions until he had the last word. Kyungsoo and Baekhyun were both daring and almost had the same opinions, except Kyungsoo knew when to zip his lips while Baekhyun had no filter at all. Perhaps half of the times they spent together consisted of Kyungsoo either trying to hold his best friend back, or steering him away from potential fights just because of what he said.  
   
The two were quite opposites as well, and what one didn't have, the other filled in: Kyungsoo was quiet and had a lot of patience in him while Baekhyun wasn't; Baekhyun was quite clumsy and fiddly while Kyungsoo was the opposite; and Kyungsoo was well-organised while Baekhyun lost things constantly, yet he somehow always managed to find items when he absolutely needed them. These were just some of the opposing traits they had, but they complemented each other well. After all, opposites attract, right?  
   
The trio entered the Great Hall and were greeted by even more noise and chatter, something which both Baekhyun and Chanyeol were contributing to and thus were not bothered by, while Kyungsoo felt like his ears were about to explode at the sudden amplifying noise. Even so, he kept mum and followed his best friends to the Hufflepuff table to drop off the tallest one of the trio.  
   
“Hey, guys!” Jongdae’s cheery voice was miraculously heard over the noise coming from all directions. The boy flashed a wide grin as his right arm was up and about, waving it wildly in the air as the trio approached the Hufflepuff table. Chanyeol perked up at the sight of the last member of their quartet and gave him a tight hug.  
   
“Jongdae!” Baekhyun jumped into Jongdae’s arms once Chanyeol let him go, patting the boy square on the back with a wide grin plastered on his face.  
   
“Baek! How was your holidays?” Jongdae greeted back, mirroring the smile. Although his looked more Cheshire-like, there was no hidden wicked intention whatsoever.  
   
“Merlin, don’t get him started, Dae,” Kyungsoo said, “He was yapping all about it to Chanyeol and I on the way here.”  
   
“Don’t be so upset that I had a better holiday than you did. I mean, seriously Kyungsoo? Just watching those Korean dramas all day? How boring,” Baekhyun retorted with a roll of his eyes and a cross of his arms over his chest.  
   
“What’s wrong with that?” Kyungsoo huffed, crossing his arms over his chest in defense as well. To him, there wasn’t anything wrong with binge watching all the good dramas he missed throughout his second year in Hogwarts the previous year. Why couldn't he indulge in the muggle things he used to enjoy before he started in Hogwarts just as much as he enjoyed learning the wonderful wizarding world?  
   
“You could’ve done so many other things, Soo,” Baekhyun said, “Like go to the beach to soak up some sun! Or go shopping!”  
   
“I think I spent my time well during the holidays,” Kyungsoo replied then frowned as he recalled, “Besides, I wasn’t the one who promised to visit but never turned up.”  
   
"Oh sweet Merlin, you're never going to let that go, are you?"  
   
"Nope," Kyungsoo said with a pop of his lips, "You promised and you broke it, so you'll be hearing about it for the rest of the year."  
   
Baekhyun rolled his eyes then turned to their other two best friends, his face brightening up again as he said, "Anyway, Soo and I'll go ahead to our table. Don't worry, Dae, I'll talk about my holidays with you later!" Both Baekhyun and Kyungsoo waved goodbye as they left for the Gryffindor table, threading their way through crowds of students coming in from the main entrances. Baekhyun continued to waffle on about his "amazing" holiday as best as he could as Kyungsoo listened, though the latter was moreso focused on getting the two of them to their destination through the crowds by keeping his hands on his best friend's shoulders since Baekhyun just wouldn't shut up and kept looking back to check whether Kyungsoo was listening.  
   
A sturdy figure unexpectedly bumped onto Kyungsoo's shoulder, slightly sending him back a step upon contact and losing his grip on his best friend's shoulders. His head swiftly turned around to have a good look at the other person, his eyes meeting another pair of brown, slightly-hooded ones. He also noticed the button nose and full lips which looked almost like he was pouting. The next thing Kyungsoo's eyes noticed was the green and silver badge with a "P" proudly pinned on the other's uniform, indicating the prefect status of the Slytherin student. Even with such, this didn't really frazzle Kyungsoo very much––he thought the on-going silent feud between Gryffindor and Slytherin was such a trivial matter. Ever since his first year at Hogwarts, he always thought it best to treat the Slytherin students nicely as how he wanted to be treated by them as well. So far, he wasn't looked down upon, nor was he ignored for his efforts in being civil.  
   
"Sorry," Kyungsoo automatically said then sent a small apologetic smile towards the Slytherin prefect before catching up with Baekhyun a few steps ahead of him.  
   
"Are you okay?" Baekhyun queried, having seen half of the exchange, then received a nod of assurance from the other.  
   
They both arrived and settled at the Gryffindor table, Baekhyun immediately starting a conversation with a few people in front of them, so Kyungsoo took this time to have a look around the bustling Great Hall which was already filled to the brim with students of four different houses. He spotted the professors standing by the High Table while either chatting to themselves or looking over at the students. Headmaster Dumbledore was seated on the throne in the middle, his head turned to the side as he had a friendly chat with another professor. Kyungsoo's eyes then roamed around the familiar walls and large windows, then up at the high ceiling of the Great Hall dusted with numerous brightly-lit candles floating about that resembled the stars in the night sky. With his stare fixated at the "stars", his mind started to wander.  
   
This was it—Kyungsoo's third year at Hogwarts; he was nearly at the midway point of the seven years of wizardry schooling. Even so, it only felt like just yesterday when he was in first year. With the holidays already gone, Kyungsoo was pumped and ready for the upcoming year. It wasn't like Kyungsoo was looking forward to studying again, but he did enjoy learning new things especially those that come off as extraordinary, and the world of wizardry was definitely extraordinary. This drove him to want to learn more, which explained his higher than average grades. However, more importantly, he was excited to start this year for it was when third year students were finally able to start on their chosen electives—Kyungsoo couldn't wait to start on Divination and Care of Magical Creatures.  
   
"How about you, Kyung?" a fellow Gryffindor, Alex, asked him which pulled him out of his thoughts. Kyungsoo turned his gaze away from the ceiling to look at him. What was the question?  
   
"Pardon?" Kyungsoo asked, his owl-like eyes blinking in confusion at the person sitting across him and Baekhyun.  
   
"Are you excited for Hogsmeade?" Baekhyun parroted Alex's question, a wide and excited smile gracing his radiant features, "Finally, we'll be able to go and see the buzz of it all!" Alex beamed as well, his blue eyes practically sparkling much like Baekhyun's.  
   
Kyungsoo began to frown at the mention of the one thing he was most excited about as becoming a third year: going to Hogsmeade.  
   
Since his first year at Hogwarts, he's heard accounts of Hogsmeade from peers and classmates alike and ever since then Kyungsoo couldn't wait to explore the area himself. Being muggleborn, everything was new to him and all he's experienced so far were amazing. Even the fact that he was a wizard still fascinated him.  
   
Now that he was a third year, Kyungsoo was finally able to go to Hogsmeade—that is, if he had signed permission from his parents.  
   
Do Kyungsoo was no ordinary muggleborn. His parents weren't strict, but moreso overprotective of the youngest son of their two children—too overprotective, if you asked Kyungsoo, and it had always been that way ever since he could remember. Back in pre-school and his first few years in ordinary muggle school, Kyungsoo was picked on by kids—young and old—for his owl-like eyes which seemed to appear larger with round glasses on, his shorter than average stature, and chubby cheeks (to which Kyungsoo was proud to say he's growing into it now). It also didn't help that Kyungsoo was quiet and mostly kept to himself, making him appear fragile, which made it all the more reason for him to be an easy target especially to a particular popular but snotty kid two years older. The bullying led to accidents where Kyungsoo was the main victim. As a result, his parents pulled him and his older brother out and they were transferred to a new one two years before Kyungsoo received his acceptance letter to Hogwarts. Of course, word spread out fast to his new school before Hogwarts, but Kyungsoo was glad he wasn't bothered as much anymore.  
   
Past was past and as opposed to his parents, Kyungsoo had nothing to worry about now that he was in a better environment. Bullying was the least of his concerns, and he was more focused on learning and exploring everything that had to do with the wizarding world.  
   
Or at least as much as his parents would allow him to.  
   
"Mum and dad didn't sign the letter," Kyungsoo answered with disappointment laced in every word, "I can't go."  
   
"What do you mean you can't go?!" Baekhyun half-shrieked in bewilderment, completely ignoring Kyungsoo's first statement, "you've been dying to go since the first time you heard about it in first year!"  
   
"I know, but I just can't go. My parents think it's too dangerous for me, no matter how much I tell them we'll all be supervised," Kyungsoo shrugged a shoulder, his forlorn eyes fixed on a dented spot at the long, wooden table in front of them.  
   
"That's bad luck, Kyung," Alex frowned, feeling disappointed for his friend and classmate, "maybe next year they'll let you go."  
   
"No!" Baekhyun whined like a child, his head quickly turning from Alex to Kyungsoo as he shook the latter by the shoulders with a vice-like grip, "You have to come, Soo! Who's going to hold all my stuff?"  
   
"You want me to go just to hold your things?" Kyungsoo replied, sounding unimpressed despite knowing how his best friend was only kidding. He rolled his eyes, replying, "Going or not, I'm not holding anything for you! What am I? Your personal assistant?"  
   
"I didn't mean it, geez," his best friend then added, "but it's going to be so dull without you," he proceeded to pout with his puppy-dog eyes, as if that would ever change Kyungsoo's parents' decision. But only seconds after did Baekhyun's face suddenly light up with a smile that on any other would imply innocence. But this was Byun Baekhyun––it meant nothing but mischief.  
   
Alex and Kyungsoo shared a knowing look.  
   
As if sensing his companions' uneasiness, Baekhyun frowned at the two.  
   
"What?" the boy questioned, feigning innocence.  
   
"What are you up to this time?" Alex hummed in slight amusement, a smirk playing on lips as he knew fully well the reason for Baekhyun's sudden uplifted mood. Unlike Kyungsoo, Alex found some fun in whatever idea Baekhyun came up with. These things added entertainment into what would be a boring and very ordinary wizarding school life without the boy that is Byun Baekhyun.  
   
"Nothing! It's nothing," however Baekhyun's shrill voice said otherwise, and Kyungsoo rolled his eyes again at that.  
 

* * *

   
The first school day was finally over and all the students have gone to their respective dorms to rest for the next day. Kyungsoo was busying himself by his desk with a book he already borrowed from the library, his eyes quickly reading through paragraphs and paragraphs of Hippogriffs to prepare for his next Care of Magical Creatures  
class. His roomie was nowhere in sight for now––he was probably off to chat with a few other Gryffindors––and Kyungsoo was using this opportunity to absorb some knowledge before his best friend would waltz in to distract him. Even without the presence of his main source of distraction, Kyungsoo couldn't really concentrate for his mind kept returning to his conversation with his parents about Hogsmeade.  
   
Without even noticing it himself, his eyebrows began to furrow in disappointment and his lips pursed into a thin line. His eyes stared unfocused on the page before him as he replayed his mum and dad's words over and over in his head.  
   
 _"I'm sorry, sweetie, but we're not allowing you to go. It may be too dangerous for you," his mum said, voice laced with worry yet with a touch of guilt for keeping her youngest son back from enjoying the things wizard children his age usually do. Her youngest was fragile and so precious to her to be exposed to anything potentially dangerous, and the wizarding world was definitely something which seemed dangerous seeing as how both her and her husband were just normal humans with no experience of what their son was going through._  
   
 _"Your mother is right," Kyungsoo's father added as he pushed up his thick, dark-rimmed glasses which were threatening to slip off his nose, "we'd much rather you are kept safe in the school grounds. You might wander off and get yourself hurt."_  
   
 _Kyungsoo's face fell even more which pained his mother—she always had a soft spot for her children, and she almost gave him permission. Almost if it weren't for her husband who came to the rescue and kept his ground._  
   
 _"I'm sorry, Kyungsoo, but you just can't go and that is that," his father said in a stern tone, closing the topic._  
   
Kyungsoo groaned in frustration and buried his forehead against the borrowed book with a thud. He just couldn't understand his parents sometimes, and it annoyed him. Surely, they could start trusting him to be independent and to be able to fend for himself—it's not like he was still five-years-old!  
   
The boy groaned again and Baekhyun chose this time to prance into the room. He stopped briefly by the doorway and lifted a delicate eyebrow at the agonised sound coming from his bestfriend-slash-roomie. Bouncing over to sit atop the edge of Kyungsoo's bed, he observed the other while his legs dangled off the side.  
   
"What's got your panties in a bunch?" Baekhyun asked, trying to set a lighter mood for his friend. Usually, especially at this hour, this would've worked, but this was something Kyungsoo was so excited for in the whole year of second year only for it to crash down on him full force. Instead of the usual chuckle and a bout of worries coming at him, Baekhyun only received a disgruntled groan akin to something like "go away".  
   
"Soo?" Baekhyun prodded again, his voice laced with genuine worry. He may have seemed like a snob and was sassy 24/7, but those who knew Byun Baekhyun well enough would know he cared for all of his close friends and family, and his care definitely showed. "Is this about Hogsmeade?"  
   
His bestfriend-slash-roommate chose to keep mum, grumbling under his breath about how he perhaps did something horrible in his past life to deserve this and how the world was simply just against him. Baekhyun let out a snort.  
   
"This isn't funny, Byun Baekhyun," Kyungsoo glared daggers at his best friend, groaning frustratedly and standing up off his desk to plop himself face down on his bed next to Baekhyun, his protests muffled by the sheets as he whined, "It's just so unfair! I don't understand what my parents see Hogsmeade as dangerous since there's supervision anyway... Everyone's going to have fun exploring it without me..." he deflates, sagging further into the bed.  
   
"Well, my friend, I may have a solution for you," Baekhyun sing-sang, shifting his position on the bed to sit cross-legged, and facing his distressed friend.  
   
Kyungsoo lifted his head off the sheet-clad mattress, raising an eyebrow curiously as he carefully asked, "Alright... What is it?"  
   
"Okay," Baekhyun composed himself before presenting his brilliant idea, "You'll probably think this is bonkers, but I think you should sneak out."  
   
Before Kyungsoo could scream out in protest about how Byun Baekhyun was absolutely insane and how they would both get in trouble––worse was to get expelled––Baekhyun quickly clapped his palm over his best friend's mouth to muffle out the latter's string of curses and disapproval. He peered over to the door before leaning closer to Kyungsoo's face and hissing, "Hear me out for a second, Kyungsoo! I promise this won't be stupid!"  
   
Kyungsoo shot a disapproving glare towards his best friend, managing to peel away Baekhyun's hand away from his face, hissing back, "Baekhyun, I'm not going to sneak out!"  
   
"Aww, come on, Soo! Look, I've got some ideas so just listen to me for at least a few minutes, okay?"  
   
"Ugh, you're impossible–"  
   
"Okay," Baekhyun cut off his best friend with a clap of his hands, "so my first idea is simple. We'll steal one of the extra Quidditch brooms and have you fly to Hogsmeade!" Kyungsoo furrowed his brows at his best friend. There was no way he was going to have himself risk his one and only chance in learning Wizardry in Hogwarts by a mere stealing of a flying broomstick. Plus, he wasn't particularly a fan of heights, so flying was definitely out of the question if he agreed on sneaking out.  
   
"First of all, no," Kyungsoo deadpanned, "and second, how am I supposed to know how to get to Hogsmeade if I don't even know where it is? I haven't been there yet, Baekhyun."  
   
"Oh yeah... Okay, next idea!"  
   
"Baekhyun, no—"  
   
"Okay, hear this: I heard from my sources that there are actually secret passageways scattered throughout Hogwarts," Baekhyun whispered once he leant in a tad closer so as not to be heard, "and one just so happens to lead right into Hogsmeade! I say you sneak out into Hogsmeade through those passageways, Soo."  
   
"Wait, who are these 'sources' you are talking about? Last time we went by any of your so-called 'sources', it was all a trick to get us both locked in the toilets overnight. Remember Moaning Myrtle and how she basically flirted with you all night?"  
   
Baekhyun visibly shivered at the reminder of that horrible night, waving his hands about wildly in an attempt to shoo the memory away, "Alright, maybe those sources weren't reliable, but these sources are!"  
   
"I'm not going to try and sneak myself out through 'secret passageways', Baek. If those passageways are another hoax, I'd be left wandering all of Hogswarts all day like a headless chicken."  
   
"Fine," Kyungsoo's best friend huffed, crossing his arms over his chest again. "But I've got one last plan, and this one's definitely foolproof!"  
   
"Baek, it’s not going to work."  
   
"So, consider this, okay?” Baekhyun continued on as if Kyungsoo didn’t even utter a word, “We're going to shrink you."  
   
"Shrink me." Kyungsoo parroted.  
   
"Yep! We're going to shrink you into Thumbelina size, and you can explore the wonders of Hogsmeade to your heart's delight in my front pocket!" Baekhyun finished off his genius plan with arms outstretched up in the air for good measure. Kyungsoo stared back in bewilderment. Was Byun Baekhyun crazy? There was no way he would be allowing his best friend to shrink him with a spell, much alone be near him as he was casting a spell onto pretty much anything. Baekhyun was clumsy with a capital C, what more the damage that could possibly ensue onto him.  
   
"No, we're not shrinking me," Kyungsoo responded sternly, "As I said, I'm not going to sneak out and risk having myself get expelled."  
   
"Stop being such a goody-two-shoes!" Baekhyun whined, gripping is best friend's forearm and giving it a good, hard shake. "I promise you we won't get into trouble, Soo!"  
   
"No, Baekhyun! Merlin," Kyungsoo swiftly unlatched his arm off his best friend's grip, sending him a warning glare. "We're not shrinking me and that's final. If my parents say I can't go to Hogsmeade, then it means I can't go, even if I don't like it."  
   
"Can't you at least think about it? I thought about these for a long time!"  
   
"Yeah, for a good 5 minutes each idea, Byun Baekhyun," Kyungsoo deadpanned.  
   
"That's not true!" Baekhyun whined, offering his signature pout akin to a kicked puppy's, yet receiving an eye roll instead.  
   
"No."  
   
Baekhyun let out a long, shrill whine of protest again, shaking his best friend's arm once more, "Just think about it, okay? I'll get someone reliable to shrink you, if that's what you're really concerned about. I know I'm not the best when it comes to spells––though I do excel when I practice hard enough––but I just really want you to go, too. Between the two of us, I know you've been dying to see Hogsmeade since the first year..."  
   
Kyungsoo sighed in defeat, his shoulders slumping at Baekhyun's words. It was true that he was most excited to see Hogsmeade in the flesh after a few years of hearing just stories about it from his higher-levelled peers, albeit they weren't as excited about it as he was. Kyungsoo had to admit that he was probably exaggerating on how awesome Hogsmeade was, but the thought of exploring a place for wizards on his own, apart from Diagon Alley, (even though they'd be somewhat supervised) was exciting to him.  
   
"I know you haven't talked about Hogsmeade for a while, but I know you still think about going, Soo."  
   
It took only a few minutes for Kyungsoo to somewhat give in, huffing out a long, tired sigh and a wave of his hand again as he said, "I'll think about it."  
 

* * *

   
Kyungsoo didn't take long in finally deciding to agree to Baekhyun's plan––as long as Baekhyun wasn't going to cast the shrinking spell on him, then Kyungsoo thought it would be a good enough plan to follow. Baekhyun, being the overly excited boy he was, immediately informed the rest of their group of four. Between the four of them, Chanyeol was elected to cast the spell, considering the short, shrill-voiced boy that was Kim Jongdae was a little too unsure and nervous to do it for him.  
   
The quadruple discussed and formulated a concrete plan to follow: Chanyeol would be in the toilets waiting and just a few minutes before the students would leave for Hogsmeade, Baekhyun would quickly excuse himself to go to the restrooms while Jongdae stays behind to wait. Meanwhile, Kyungsoo would "drop by" the same bathroom, the spell would be casted on him, and he could hide in his best friend's shirt pocket as the three of them return to wherever Jongdae would be waiting to go off to Hogsmeade together with none the wiser. Kyungsoo would even make sure he stuffed a few pillows under his covers to act as a dummy for him. No one would ever know he was gone––except his small group of friends, of course.  
   
To say Kyungsoo was nervous about the whole ordeal was an understatement. He was indeed excited to finally see Hogsmeade himself, albeit he'll be treading further into the short side, but he had never attempted to break any school rules his entire life, and he was just about to break one in a few weeks' time. The thought of it made him feel jumpy in a bad kind of way.  
   
Since the final plans were made between him and his friends, he had been cautious of anyone and no one. He knew he shouldn't appear so nervous all the time or people could probably start getting suspicious. Yet, he couldn't help but do a little jump of surprise every time someone called his name, or even so much as tap his shoulder to grab his attention. He couldn't help it, really; he never had to hide something as big as this when he was a child.  
   
Nevertheless, the weeks rolled by as normal and without any fuss. Before he knew it, the day finally came.  
   
Kyungsoo couldn't contain his excitement, yet he had to pretend to appear indifferent and disappointed that "he wasn't going" as he sat in the Great Hall next to his best friend. Baekhyun, on the other had, was openly excited, some crumbs and bits of his chewed breakfast flying off his full mouth as he animatedly talked. Of course, Kyungsoo was definitely going to Hogsmeade, albeit he'll be an ant for a few moments, but he had to pretend that he wasn't so he wouldn't be suspected later on.  
   
After breakfast was when students had to start filing out to leave for Hogsmeade by thestrals. Kyungsoo excused himself from the table then strolled back to his dorm room to "rest", and that was the signal for their plan to start.  
   
In the corner of his eye, Baekhyun saw Jongdae and Chanyeol get up and leave their table. Baekhyun smiled towards his friends at the Gryffindor table, wiping his mouth with a napkin and excusing himself as well to meet Jongdae by the Great Hall doors to start lining up. Chanyeol already left to wait in the toilets by the time he stepped out the Great Hall doors to meet with the taller. They shared a knowing look, Jongdae's appearing a little uncertain while Baekhyun just had a glint in his eye as their eyes met.  
   
"Let's go," Baekhyun chirped, stepping ahead to walk first and his friend tailed behind him. Halfway to where they had to meet to ride the thestrals, Baekhyun halted his footsteps.  
   
"I just remembered!" he snapped his fingers as he looked back to the direction of the Gryffindor dorms, "Wait here, Dae. I'll be right back!" and he sprinted off, but not without a quick glance back at the nervous Jongdae who merely nodded and stood aside to wait. Baekhyun ran as fast as his short, lanky limbs could carry him, and it took him record time to arrive at the toilets they were supposed to meet. He burst through the doors, resting his palms on his knees as he panted for breath.  
   
"You didn't have to run here, Baek," was the first thing he was greeted with by Do Kyungsoo himself. Chanyeol did nothing to help Baekhyun and only snickered at the sidelines.  
   
"I thought we agreed you were going to come here a little later?" Baekhyun pouted, "we planned this! Stick to the plan!"  
   
"I did stick to the plan! I've stuffed by bed with a dummy and waited in the dorm room for five minutes, just like you said," Kyungsoo folded his arms over his chest, "Anyway, let's not argue right now or people will start asking why you two are missing."  
   
Baekhyun rolled his eyes and he moved to stand behind Chanyeol, who had his wand out and looked just as ready to cast the spell on their doe-eyed friend.  
   
"Ready?" Chanyeol's smile couldn't appear more cheshire-like to Kyungsoo than it was that day.  
   
"Just do it before I change my mi––"  
   
"Diminuendo!" Chanyeol's deep voice suddenly cut his friend off as he waved his wand and pointed it at Kyungsoo. At first, Kyungsoo felt like the spell didn't work for everything was in the same size at it was. But after he blinked, suddenly his surroundings were gigantic: the bathroom stalls were humongous; the toilets suddenly appeared to be white, gigantic ships; the sinks were suddenly too big; and, looking up at his two friends, they were like skyscrapers with Chanyeol appearing beyond that. He blinked a few times to get his head around the whole thing, unbelieving that he was now indeed smaller.  
   
"Cool!" was Baekhyun's first reaction upon seeing how adorably tiny his best friend looked in Thumbelina size. He flashed a wide grin as he knelt in front of Kyungsoo, outstretching his palm for the little guy to climb onto, "Let's go, Soo! We've got a thestral to catch."  
   
Kyungsoo struggled to climb onto his best friend's palm, but he managed to get on just fine, and he was carefully stuffed into the front pocket of Baekhyun's school shirt inside his robe. Kyungsoo was glad that at least his friend's pockets were nice and clean, in comparison to his side of the dorm room they share.  
   
He didn't have the faintest idea on what was going on for a good while, but he could feel Baekhyun's movement and hear everything that was happening, including the conversations around him. He heard Jongdae's slightly nervous tone as he greeted Baekhyun and Chanyeol when they finally met up with him. He felt movement as Baekhyun got aboard the thestral to Hogsmeade. And, he certainly felt the slightly too hard pat Baekhyun gave him just to check up on him. Baekhyun was lucky Kyungsoo managed to bite down his yelp. He'll have to punch him back later.  
   
His best friend was quiet for a while, but Kyungsoo felt that he was still walking––probably through crowds of people considering the loud chatter all around him. At this point, he knew they've arrived at Hogsmeade. However, Baekhyun was finding a place secure and out of the public eye so Jongdae could cast a spell and have Kyungsoo back to his normal size, since there was no way he was going to spend this whole time in Byun Baekhyun’s front pocket.  
   
“I think this is a safe place,” came Baekhyun’s hushed whisper and Kyungsoo was soon picked up by his head with large fingers.  
   
“Hey!” Kyungsoo fisted the air in an attempt to fight as he was plucked out of the pocket, but he was immediately placed on Baekhyun’s palm. He threw a glare at his best friend who only smiled cheerily back at him.  
   
“I hate you.”  
   
“I love you, too, Do Kyungsoo!”  
   
“Shh!” Kyungsoo looked around as he waved his arms about to shut his best friend up, “Don’t say my name around here! What if people hear you?!”  
   
“They won’t; just relax, okay?” Baekhyun assured in a softer tone—one of which held no usual sass to it—then carefully held his palm down on the floor for his little friend to hop off.  
   
“This place is the quietest, so you’re safe here, Soo,” Chanyeol added with a smile, his wand out and ready again. Jongdae stood behind Baekhyun, nodding his head in agreement.  
   
“Howdy!” came Alex’s voice, and out popped his head from behind Chanyeol. He had a wide grin of his own, saluting two fingers to Kyungsoo.  
   
“Why is he here?” Kyungsoo queried with a suspicious raise of his eyebrow, to which Baekhyun rubbed his nape as if caught stealing a cookie from a cookie jar when he wasn’t meant to.  
   
“I wanted to tag along!” was Alex’s cheery input before Baekhyun could answer.  
   
“Yeah, he wanted to tag along.” Baekhyun parroted.  
   
“Right.”  
   
“Anyway, come on. Let’s get you back to normal size so we can explore together!” Baekhyun chirped up. Kyungsoo jumped off Baekhyun’s palm, dusting himself off as his feet hit the ground. He looked up at his skyscraper friends, then in a quick second, Kyungsoo was back to his normal size, thanks to Chanyeol’s help with a growth spell.  
   
Baekhyun quickly launched himself onto Kyungsoo and if it wasn’t for his fast reflexes, they would have fallen flat onto the hard pavement.  
   
“You’re back!” Baekhyun nearly screamed into his ear.  
   
“Yeah, but it wasn’t like I disappeared, Baek,” Kyungsoo had to laugh a little, “I was in your pocket the whole time.”  
   
“I know. But, to be honest with you, I liked you way better in that tiny size. When I picked you up? Man, you looked so cute wriggling around like that,” Baekhyun flashed a cheeky grin yet he was smacked hard with a palm onto his arm.  
   
“Take that back!”  
   
“I was joking!”  
   
“Can we just go already?” Jongdae complained, “As much as it’s rare to see you two interact like this, I’d like to enjoy Hogsmeade before we have to return.”  
   
“He’s right. We should go,” Alex piped in and the five of them eagerly left the area, walking through a somewhat dark, narrow, maze-like alleyway. As they neared the populated area of Hogsmeade, Kyungsoo could hear the chatter grow louder and louder and, before he knew it, he stepped out and was met with hordes of students going about their day in Hogsmeade, having the time of their lives.  
   
Kyungsoo’s face lit up like a Christmas tree as his owl-like eyes drank all of the sight in: the signages scattered about, the different specialty shops which sold different items a muggleborn such as him could only ever dream about, the cottages, the pubs, and the different people littering the area. His eyes fell onto a sign with “Honeydukes” written on it, and his excitement couldn’t have skyrocketed even further as he tugged excitedly onto Baekhyun’s robe.  
   
“Baekhyun! Let’s go there!” he pointed once he grabbed Baekhyun’s attention.  
   
With a wide grin of his own, Baekhyun led his now-overly excited friend towards Honeydukes, a famous sweet shop well-known for its chocolates and all the sweets you could ever imagine. The rest of their little crew followed, and the five of them scattered in groups of two and three once they entered the shop full of students much like themselves eager to buy their desired treats.  
   
They took their time there, but the five of them left the specialty sweets shop with at least one treat purchase, smiles plastered on their faces as they chatted.  
   
“Naw, I think it’s pear flavour!” Chanyeol exclaimed, a light green jelly bean neatly placed on his open palm.  
   
“You never know!” Baekhyun grinned in a cheeky sort of way, “It could be booger!”  
   
“That’s gross!” Alex laughed as he held a black jelly bean in between his fingers. Jongdae and Kyungsoo laughed along, their open palms holding a red jelly bean and a red-spotted orange jelly bean respectively. Baekhyun dug into the small jar of Every Flavour Beans he bought, picking out a white piece.  
   
“Okay, on the count of three, we all pop the beans in our mouths at the same time. No backing out!” Baekhyun warned with a point of his pinky finger, “One… Two… Thr––”  
   
Kyungsoo was suddenly shoved to the side just a tad, having been pushed by someone a few inches taller than him. In a domino effect, he collided onto Chanyeol’s side who then bumped his opposite shoulder to the wall of Honeydukes’ shop.  
   
“Oh, sorry––” the small boy heard. He looked up to face his culprit and was met with a familiar pair of brown, partially hooded eyes, button nose, and the same full, pouty lips on the boy’s face. Kyungsoo also noticed the familiar green and silver Prefect badge pinned on the elder boy’s uniform. Looking back up to his culprit’s face, he noticed the prefect’s eyes seemed to appear wider than he last checked a few seconds ago.  
   
“That’s okay,” Kyungsoo finally managed to croak out after his not-so-subtle once-over of the other boy.  
   
He was met with silence for a while as the boy began to stare him up and down. Everyone was quiet––even Baekhyun was quiet behind him. Kyungsoo readjusted the scarf around his neck, suddenly feeling a little vulnerable.  
   
“50 points to Gryffindor,” the guy finally said with a smirk playing on his lips, his voice sounding absolutely velvety and smooth as he said it. He sent a wink towards Kyungsoo’s way and Kyungsoo’s face couldn’t have felt hotter until that moment.  
   
“Oi, Jongin!” an unfamiliar voice called for the other boy’s attention, a head then popping out from Honeydukes’ entrance behind Chanyeol. They all turned to the person’s direction who also appeared to be a Slytherin prefect with silver hair. The silver-haired prefect gave Kyungsoo’s small group a quick glance, giving Kyungsoo a longer stare than necessary––as if he knew him which was strange since Kyungsoo didn’t––then lifting a delicate eyebrow in interest.  
   
“Am I... interrupting something?” he asked in an unsure tone, yet a knowing smirk was on his lips. The silver-haired prefect was replied with a roll of his friend’s eyes.  
   
“N-Nothing. Let’s go,” said the Slytherin student whom Kyungsoo thought must be ‘Jongin’, and the prefects disappeared into Honeydukes.  
   
“What was that?” Chanyeol queried after a moment of complete silence between the five friends.  
   
“Merlin, did he just hit on you, Soo?” Baekhyun squeaked with a grin, practically buzzing with excitement, “He did, didn’t he?! Who was that guy?”  
   
“I think his name is Jongin,” Jongdae supplied, a playful glint in his eye as well, “I know the other guy is Sehun.”  
   
“Jongin, huh?” Chanyeol grinned mischievously towards Baekhyun’s way, and poor Kyungsoo could guess what was about to come for him: teasing.  
   
“Aww, guys! Our little Kyungsoo is growing up!” piped Baekhyun.  
   
“Baekhyun, shut up!” Kyungsoo hissed, practically hiding most of his face behind his scarf, “He didn’t! That was a mistake.”  
   
“He looked at you funny, though,” came Alex’s observation which Kyungsoo wished he didn’t say. Curse Alex and his keen eye!  
   
“I-I thought he was going to report me…” Kyungsoo tried to change the topic, but to no avail as Baekhyun and Chanyeol began to chant happily of Kyungsoo’s potential love. It left Kyungsoo with the feeling of wanting to be swallowed whole by the ground.  
 

* * *

   
Kyungsoo couldn’t keep his mind off of that particular incident in Hogsmeade. Well, aside from Baekhyun and Chanyeol reminding him about it every chance they got, Kyungsoo couldn’t help but think about it wherever he went.  
   
He was thankful he was never caught for sneaking into Hogsmeade that day. He and his friends––despite their constant teasing the rest of that day––kept a watchful eye for any prefects and professors, and purposely avoided and skirted around them. Kyungsoo returned to Hogwarts by the same method, and everything was kept a secret. However, he was worried that one prefect, Jongin, would report him to Professor McGonagall any time soon, yet his friends assured him Jongin would never do that considering he was hit on with a pick-up line. Of course, Kyungsoo was disbelieving of that.  
   
Weeks passed and Kyungsoo was never called to the Head of Gryffindor’s office. The teasing from his friends have also started to diminish, and Kyungsoo was able to relax just a little knowing he would be able to live close to peace from his friends’ taunting. However, he kept on his toes and was on high alert every time he passed by the professor.  
   
Kyungsoo still couldn’t shake the fact that he was never reported by that Slytherin prefect and he wanted to know why, despite having this little inkling that maybe Jongin DOES have a little crush on him (curse Baekhyun and Chanyeol for putting this stupid information into his head!).  
   
Thus, Kyungsoo began to look out for the Slytherin prefect. It was difficult though since he wasn’t blessed on the height department and so he couldn’t see past people’s heads.  
   
 _It shouldn’t be too hard to find him_ , Kyungsoo thought to himself,  _He’s a prefect after all._  
   
Kyungsoo also had to rely on his luck that he’ll bump into the guy by chance, similarly to the other two times. Yet, for some odd reason, Kyungsoo hadn’t seen the Slytherin prefect since, except for the times whenever all the students gathered for meals in the Great Hall. There, he would spot Jongin by the Slytherin table next to his prefect friend, but pulling the student aside in the middle of a crowded hall would grab too much attention and he didn’t want that.  
   
“Why are you looking for him?” Baekhyun lifted an eyebrow curiously one night when everyone was already asleep.  
   
“Because,” Kyungsoo answered, leaving it at that as his cheeks began to burn again. Thank Merlin there was barely any light in their dark dorm room right now. Yet, he could still see the knowing grin growing on Baekhyun’s face.  
   
“Do you like him now?” Baekhyun leaned in close to whisper in case he would be heard, “Geez, Soo, you must’ve liked his pick-up line a lot!”  
   
“I don’t!” hissed Kyungsoo, hiding half of his face behind his warm sheets as he looked away, “Just tell me where he usually hangs out. I just want to talk to him.”  
   
“Alright alright! Just because I’m nice, I’ll ask my sources and I’ll tell you.”  
   
The next night, Baekhyun informed him of Jongin’s usual whereabouts and Kyungsoo was set on finding him the following day.  
   
During one of their many breaks in between classes, Kyungsoo speed-walked to the courtyard where Jongin apparently frequented with Sehun. After searching the large courtyard, he managed to spot Sehun first sitting at one of the corners, then saw the back of Jongin’s head as the boy was facing Sehun while they talked.  
   
As Kyungsoo approached, Sehun noticed him right away, quickly nudging Jongin to grab the boy’s attention. It also looked to Kyungsoo as if Sehun was telling Jongin that he was approaching. The Slytherin prefect looked behind his shoulder, locked eyes with Kyungsoo, stiffened for a few seconds, then scrambled to his feet and bolted out of the area.  
   
What?  
   
“H-Hey, wait!” Kyungsoo tried to follow behind Jongin, but the Slytherin was too fast and Kyungsoo lost him in an instant. Panting for breath, he stood by the wall to think as groups of students passed by.  
   
That was odd.  
   
“Are you okay, Kyung?” Alex asked, suddenly appearing out of nowhere beside him.  
   
“Yeah,” Kyungsoo wheezed, “I’m fine. Don’t worry.”  
   
His next few attempts to talk to Jongin were futile, since the prefect always ran away at the mere sight of him. Not only that but suddenly, Kyungsoo would manage to spot him amongst the crowd as he walked from class to class yet Jongin would skirt around him, or run away every single time Kyungsoo would so much as try to say hi. It was as if Jongin was avoiding him like the plague, and it gave Kyungsoo an odd feeling in his chest.  
   
For a few days, it seemed to be that way, and it began to irritate Kyungsoo. Somehow, he had to block Jongin’s path so they could finally talk.  
   
By sheer luck, as Kyungsoo rounded the corner of the empty hallways back to the Gryffindor Tower to call it a night, he crashed onto a sturdy figure who caught him by the arms. Their eyes met and suddenly, Kyungsoo was met with Jongin’s face.  
   
“Oh shit,” Jongin cursed under his breath and began to bolt for it, but this time Kyungsoo was quick enough to grab a hold onto Jongin’s arm, pulling him back.  
   
“We need to talk,” came Kyungsoo’s stern tone as he tugged onto his firm grip on Jongin’s arm.  
   
“N-No, we don’t,” was Jongin’s quiet reply, visibly swallowing a lump in his throat as he looked anywhere else but at Kyungsoo. He began to tug on his arm, ready to bolt out of the scene again. The shorter gritted his teeth.  
   
“Yes, we do. You’re avoiding me,” Kyungsoo said, gripping harder onto Jongin’s arm and the Slytherin student winced.  
   
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”  
   
“What did I ever do to you?”  
   
“Let go of my arm!”  
   
“Not until you answer my questions!”  
   
“I’m answering none of your questions!” Jongin pulled onto his arm harder, squirming and prying Kyungsoo’s fingers off his arm.  
   
“Jongin!”  
   
The Slytherin prefect froze for a second then bit his lower lip, “My name is not Jongin.”  
   
“You’re lying,” Kyungsoo threw a glare at him, “I’ve heard Sehun call after you multiple times, and I know you’re the only Jongin in this school.”  
   
Jongin narrowed his eyes, as if challenging Kyungsoo back with a glare of his own. “Well, whatever!”  
   
“Why are you avoiding me?” Kyungsoo interrogated again.  
   
“Can you please let go of me? I can’t feel my fingers.”  
   
“Why are you avoiding me?”  
   
“Merlin––I wasn’t avoiding you!”  
   
“Then what’s the problem?!”  
   
“I’m just shy around you!”  
   
Kyungsoo furrowed his brows, confused at Jongin’s answer as the Slytherin student smacked a palm over his own mouth, his eyes wide as saucers.  
   
“That doesn’t make any sense. Explain it.”  
   
“G-Good. Let’s k-keep it that way,” Jongin huffed, gritting his teeth as Kyungsoo dug his fingers onto Jongin’s skin. Merlin, this Kyungsoo was persistent.  
   
“Explain.”  
   
“No.”  
   
“I’m going to dig my nails onto your skin in the next five seconds if you don’t explain. One…”  
   
Shit, Jongin cursed multiple times in his head, racking his brain of anything to stop the short boy that is Do Kyungsoo from practically ripping more than skin off his arm.  
   
“Two…”  
   
There was no use tugging onto his arm again; Kyungsoo was unbelievably strong for a short guy.  
   
“Three…”  
   
Kyungsoo readjusted his grip, ready to dig his nails in, and Jongin was terrified.  
   
“Fo––  
   
“For the love of––because I like you, okay?!” Jongin finally burst, once again clamping down a hand to his mouth at his sudden outburst. Kyungsoo stared at him with his wide owl-eyes, his grip on Jongin’s arm loosening. Thank Merlin his arm is safe.  
   
“You… huh?”  
   
“I’m not repeating myself again,” Jongin finally unlatched his arm away from Kyungsoo’s hold with a quick snatch, rubbing the sore spot as he inspected it, “Merlin, it felt like you were crushing my arm…”  
   
“You like me?” came Kyungsoo’s soft voice and Jongin had to look up. Kyungsoo appeared to look beyond shocked as he noticed the red hue on his cheeks. Jongin looked away, his cheek feeling hot as well.  
   
“Y-Yeah... So what?” he mumbled.  
   
“Oh…”  
   
They stood there for a while, saying nothing and looking anywhere else but at each other. Jongin still nursed his sore arm as they awkwardly stood in silence.  
   
“Well, uhh… I-I should h-head on back t-to the dorms…” Kyungsoo began, his voice so soft, Jongin had to strain his ears to hear.  
   
“That’s it?!” the Slytherin student huffed, “You’re just going to walk away after nearly breaking my arm like this? You didn’t even accept or reject! How am I supposed to live with that dumb ‘oh’ as an answer?!”  
   
“W-What do you mean?” Kyungsoo’s eyes widened at the outburst.  
   
“Do you like me back or not?” was Jongin’s outright question, cutting to the chase. It took Kyungsoo a while, his lips opening and closing a few times like a fish as he scuffed his shoes onto the ground nervously.  
   
“Merlin! Nevermi––”  
   
“Y-Yeah,” came the Gryffindor student’s reply and Jongin nearly snapped his neck with how quick he turned his head to look at the shorter boy. Kyungsoo had his head lowered, finding more interest on the ground than Jongin’s face.  
   
“What do you mean ‘yeah’?”  
   
“I-I think I like you too…” Kyungsoo explained, glancing up at him shyly then looking back down on the ground.  
   
Jongin’s cheeks felt hot again. He finally got his answer yet for some reason, he had the faintest idea of what to do next, and so he replied, “O-Oh. Okay.”  
   
“‘Okay’?” Kyungsoo parroted, lifting his head up to look at him albeit a little nervously.  
   
“Okay.” Jongin said again.  
   
Kyungsoo nodded, pursing his lips into a straight line as he averted his eyes away.  
   
“I-I’ll see you tomorrow then,” Jongin stepped past Kyungsoo, ready to sleep this embarrassment away.  
   
“W-Wait!” Kyungsoo turned to him. Jongin barely looked back to hide his still red cheeks.  
   
“What?”  
   
“What are we now…?”  
   
Jongin shrugged his shoulders, having thought they would’ve discussed this another time, “Boyfriends?”  
   
Kyungsoo slowly nodded at the answer. Then he began to smile, his eyes crinkling into little smiling crescents, and his mouth showing a small grin. Jongin’s heart melted at the sight of Kyungsoo’s signature heart-shaped smile, despite it not a full smile––someday he’d be blessed to see Kyungsoo’s heart smile and be the cause of it, and Jongin hoped he’d see it multiple times in the future.  
   
The thought sent him huffing out an amused breath, muttering a “see ya” at Kyungsoo as he walked off to the Slytherin dorms with an all-too-fast beating heart and a smile on his face.  
   
Similarly, Kyungsoo turned his back to Jongin’s retreating figure, his smile never leaving his lips as he continued his trek back to the Gryffindor Tower and to his dorm room. Baekhyun and Chanyeol would have the time of their lives once they found out about this, but Kyungsoo didn’t mind at all.  
 


End file.
